Suppose I was to go on board and have old Weatherall and the cutter down upon you?"

"Do," said Biggs, "only keep out of the reach of harm."

"Stuff! you are drunk, Biggs; but good-bye-I am going to clear the Flying Shingler out next."

Instead of going straight down clear out of the bay, the Albatross, the moment the anchor was up, set sail, and taking a sweep and coming down upon the cutter, which lay at anchor in-shore, she discharged six guns, and putting about again with the speed of lightning, away she shot at a rate which put all competition at defiance. Such an insult had never before been heard of the ship of her Royal Majesty, and he, Captain Weatherall, on board. "I will have that ruffian hanged now; he has shot at a vessel bearing the royal pennant, and he must swing. All hands make sail, ho!" This, however, was more easily said than done. Several of the shots had materially injured the sails, and the crew were considerably weakened without the boat's crew, which was absent. So Weatherall soon saw that, from the speed at which the Albatross was proceeding, it was no use to follow. "I will go on shore now and have her sequestrated, and send after her, to have her seized wherever she enters.' When he reached the shore, what was his surprise to learn that the Albatross had not changed her register, which was South American! Captain Weatherall had a great mind to declare war with the country on behalf of the British Government; but he was advised to go forth, and, if possible, lay hold of Biggs, and bring him to a reckoning. This was rather a difficult matter, but the cutter went out to sea to make chase.

CHAPTER XIV.

OUR narrative follows the Albatross, as it is necessary to give some particulars of the eventful voyage, and the accidents which occurred to the several adventurers on board after her departure from Sydney.

As already mentioned, Captain Biggs's mind began to be unsettled during the time he lay in Sydney harbour, from the continued insults and unnecessary annoyances heaped upon him by Weatherall. Like many seamen of the old school, he possessed an inflammable and ungovernable temper. From a boy he had been accustomed to the routine of a vessel; a captain was in his opinion one of the greatest men on earth, the owner was next to him, and from him a little might be borne, although not over-much. Your lords and your great men were thought nothing of by Biggs; indeed, he declared he would not give a curse to be a lord. To a mind such as his, it was distracting to be under the surveillance of such people as the water-police, and be accused and fined very likely without being heard in his defence, for it was a well-known fact that many of the cases at that time were decided upon the night before. "Your worship," a constable would say, "the captain of the So-and-so was heard to laugh at your walking-stick, and say it was diseased." "Did he? have him up for something tomorrow; he is fined twenty pounds." "Your worship," again the

constable would say, "the crew of the were beating your spaniel." "No! the horrid blackguards, they shall be up for something to-morrow. Do you hear, sirrah? I will give them six weeks." Biggs fretted and fumed under this treatment until his mind became too violently agitated for his reason. In the bustle of sailing, however, it had escaped any very particular observation; but before the Albatross had been two days out to sea, Thiny Field could see plainly that he was insane. He stretched away for New Zealand, instead of making for Hobart Town, and concealed his charts and chronometer from every person in the vessel. Afterwards, he accused a number of the seamen of attempting to mutiny, and had fully one-half, including the mates, put in irons. He then made a party of the cook and another fellow, and by promises and grog these two were prevailed upon by the captain to fall unawares upon the remaining portion of the seamen and put them and Thiny in irons. This was accomplished in the dead of night. In the morning it blew half a gale, with no person but the captain and his two men to attend to the vessel. Had they been taken aback, the whole must have perished. The wind happened, however, to be aft, and the man at the wheel being a steady seaman, they got pretty well through until night, when the captain, watching his opportunity, fell upon his assistants, and put them in irons likewise. He was now alone.

It was a strange kind of mental derangement that Biggs was labouring under. He knew well enough that his mind was unsettled; yet he could not resist the temptation to commit insane acts. "I am mad! mad! mad!-hah! hah!-curse you all, everything!" When he had the whole ship's company fairly imprisoned, a strange unnatural desire entered his mind to murder them all. He whetted his cutlass for the whole of the night; his pulse throbbed violently; his hair stood on end; a voice within him whispered, "Slay, cut their throats; what prevents you?" another said, Command your reason, for it prevents you." He was distracted with terror; he thought he could discern the arch-fiend in the cabin grinning at and mocking him; then he said, "No; I will not kill!" His resolution was again giving way, when he held the pistol to his own head. "Before I cross the mainmast," said he, "this shot shall go through my own brain." He rolled about in the dark, oppressed with the gloomiest fears. He was a madman, a fool-he knew it. Why was he so much more uncomfortable than the human race? Life was a misery; the sooner it was ended, the better.

At dawn of day, he found, on going on deck, that the sails of the vessel were aback; but what did he care? After he had lashed the helm firmly, he managed to lower the gig, and away. He found he was unable to reach the land, and the current carried him out to sea; the sun shone down so scorching as those who have been in tropical climes can only know. Everything annoyed him-The gun, the gun!-no, he would not be his own murderer; he threw the gun more than thirty yards from him, and prayed that God would forgive him for his evil thoughts.

Many days after, a homeward-bound wool ship found the boat drifting along the open ocean, about two hundred miles from the New Zealand coast. In the boat was the lifeless body of poor Biggs !

CHAPTER XV.

A CONSIDERABLE period has elapsed since the date of the last chapter; the days have passed, how wearisome, yet O how fast! bringing changes, how sad to some, and the goal nearer to all! One morning a vessel was seen wearing past the Dutch Fort at Batavia, and making for the harbour; she was a fine first-class vessel, full-rigged, with full poop and high bulwarks. At length she dropped her anchor, and was instantly surrounded by countless numbers of prows filled with fruits and vegetables. A man of about the age of thirty was seen to be led by the Captain to the side of the vessel and assisted into a boat; the Captain followed, and the boat, or prow, started for the shore. Here they were attacked by some of the endless number of Coolies always hanging about the landing-place of an Indian city, who requested to be allowed to carry the luggage of the two gentlemen. The first-mentioned person inquired for the counting-house of M'Tavish and Bilton, and was shown to a large handsome store, or godown, in the old city, on the spot where the business of the town is transacted; the strangers entered a handsome outer warehouse, but which had more the appearance of a saloon or ball-room, from the elegant style in which it was fitted up, and its spaciousness of dimensions; large bales of merchandise, fancy cloths, &c. were placed in regular order along the walls of the room, for the purpose of attracting the notice of the different traders and natives who ever and anon entered and departed. At each end of this room was a large window partly open, which by the current of air thus admitted kept the room cool even in the mid-day of an Indian climate. At one end of this splendid warehouse was a door communicating with the counting-house, and to it the strangers were ciceroned by a young man, who seemed to act as a warehouse-keeper.

In the outer apartment of the counting-house sat a young man chaffering with a native merchant or trader; as they were not at first observed, the strangers heard a part of this conversation.

"Me not sell him," said the native.

"And I tell you it is quite enough for your rack; it is insufferably bad, and a few glasses of it would burn the stomach of an elephant to cinders."

"Me keep him."

"You are a fool, Bamo Bumine. You will never sell it-it is bad."

"Me keep him."

very

"I tell you, you will not get more than 28 dollars per leaguer for it." "Me keep him."

"Then, keep him; but as we want it to-day, you may send it in."

The name for arrack, used by the lower orders in India.

At this moment the gaze of the other fell upon the Captain of the vessel, who, with a tin case beneath his arm, was waiting until the other should observe him.

"Oh! blue jacket!" exclaimed the merchant, with an exclamation of surprise; "have you brought your vessel to us? His glance then turned towards the companion of the other, who was gazing at him with much astonishment; they looked for some moments at each other, when the one exclaimed, "Thiny Field!" and the other, "Mr. Mackie."

There is nothing in the world strange to a man of the world; yet, when he knocks against a person he had formerly known in other auspices and in different scenes, even a man of the great world is apt to say-"How singular, Mr., we should have met each other here!" and so with Mr. Mackie and Thiny Field: each, although widely different in general character, was a finished man of the world: Thiny, all low cunning, by which he saw through those with whom he was brought into contact; but so vain and boastful, that all this knowledge of men was worthless to him. Mackie, full of refined feeling, and accustomed to reason on abstract principles, had a keen insight into the minds of men, and knew the foibles and excellencies of the human heart as well as many of the species; and yet what use did he turn it to?—his life was spent in vain repinings, or in searches after unreal perfection.

"I am sorry to see you in such a garb, after so long a separation," said Thiny. "I need not ask who you are in mourning for?"

"No, Thiny. I am again alone in the world, without any ties to bind me to it.'

66

And are you going on a trading voyage?" inquired Thiny.

"No," replied Mackie; "I am going home by Greece and Italy. Cartwright has kindly given me a couple of years to have a last peep at the great world. I wished to retire from the house, but he would not hear of such a thing."

"And how go things in the old place?"

"Worse and worse," replied Mr. Mackie. "We have been harder up this last six months than ever. Cartwright is being dunned to death, and obliged to keep out of the way for weeks at a time. How goes the world with you, Thiny? Are you a clerk here, or a partner?" "A clerk! How could you suppose such a thing? I am No. 2 here; for Bilton, you know, is nobody."

At this moment a pale young man entered the counting-house; he inquired of Thiny, who the strangers were.

"Mr. Bilton, Mr. Mackie," said Thiny.

"Mr. Mackie, of Mackie and Cartwright?" inquired he, gazing upon him with the scrutinising look one is apt to bestow upon a correspondent whose name is familiar to the mind, but whose person is a stranger to the eye. "I am glad to see you, Mr. Mackie," said Bilton, stretching forth his hand warmly.

"I thank you, sir," replied Mackie. "How singular that I should find Mr. Field a partner here!"

"A partner!" exclaimed Bilton with a look of surprise. "How could you think so? He is our warehouse-keeper; he is not even in the counting-house."

"Oh, indeed!" said Mackie; "I beg your pardon ;" and muttered he to himself, "The old man-Thiny Field all over."

The vessel only remained a day or two, as Mackie found it impossible to do anything with her; he departed for Calcutta, and from thence to Europe. It is not our purpose to follow him in his wanderings, so we leave him with a heavy heart. Thiny Field wrote once to Sydney, that he had been appointed Governor-General of India; but as the Sydney press were rude enough to add to this information "Fudge!" he was so angry that he never favoured them with any communications afterwards.

LORD STANLEY AND THE COLONISTS.
Charge! Bobby, charge! On, Stanley, on!
Were the last words of Marmion.

MR. EDITOR,

"WHAT everybody says must be true," is a very old adage; and as we are told that England is the happiest and the best-governed kingdom in the universe, we are as implicitly bound to believe it as the Roman Catholics, that their religion is the only one that leadeth to salvation (?). It results from this, that those who are not inwardly persuaded that we are the happiest people on the face of the globe must be egregious fools. Sensible men must shrug their shoulders, and pity such miserable wretches as the editors and the readers of such periodicals as The Morning Chronicle, The Sunday Times, The Weekly Dispatch, The League, and last, though faith not the least, my dear friend Punch, that satanical critic, for endeavouring to make that good-natured and gullible fellow John Bull believe that the nation is a miserable and an oppressed one. Away with the advice of such diabolical, abominable, and dangerous contemporaries, who, like the Liberator, are ever inflaming the minds of the people, either to lead them astray, or else to get every man's shilling, leaving their hands and hearts out of the question.

For my part, I exclaim-"Happy England! Happy Colonies!! well may ye rejoice and be glad, for verily ye are the best-governed countries on this revolving earth, China not even excepted. The Mandarins of the Brother of the Sun and Moon are mere pigmies when compared to our statesmen. Those miserable Chinamen only think of their own aggrandisement, caring little how heavily the poor are taxed, and not a peacock's feather whether they have provisions for six months, much less six weeks, even in the face of a bad harvest. Astrologers may prophesy, old Chinese women may dream bushels of dreams, yet nothing disturbs the serenity of their minds or their digestive powers. It matters little to them whether wheat be cheap or dear-whether oysters be